Swift rise in debt limit essential, Obama says

President Barack Obama speaks during the last news conference of his first term Monday in the East Room of the White House in Washington.
President Barack Obama speaks during the last news conference of his first term Monday in the East Room of the White House in Washington.

— President Barack Obama demanded Monday that lawmakers raise the nation’s $16.4 trillion federal debt limit quickly, warning that “Social Security benefits and veterans’ checks will be delayed” if they don’t and cautioning Republicans not to insist on cuts to government spending in exchange.

“They will not collect a ransom in exchange for not crashing the American economy,”Obama said during the 21st and final news conference of his first term in office. “The full faith and credit of the United States of America is not a bargaining chip.”

Answering questions for about an hour, Obama also said he will soon ask Congress to enact new gun-control legislation in the wake of the shootings that left 20 elementary students dead at a Newtown, Conn., school a little more than a month ago.

Among the proposals under consideration are a ban on assault-style weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines. Obama said he would unveil his proposals next week. He was meeting after his news conference with Vice President Joe Biden, his point man in producing gun control measures to present to Congress.

Biden identified 19 potential executive actions the president could enact on his own, said Jenny Werwa, communications director for California Rep. Jackie Speier, who joined other Democratic House members at a meeting with the vice president Monday.

Facing stiff opposition from the National Rifle Association, Obama conceded that lawmakers may not approve everything he asks for.

But the risk of a default once the debt ceiling is reached dominated the news conference.

“We are not a deadbeat nation,” he declared, less than a week away from taking the oath of office for a second term.

Within minutes, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said the president and his allies in Congress need to get serious about spending, and the debt limit debate is the perfect time for it.

“I do know that the most important issue confronting the future of our country is our deficit and debt,” McConnell said. “So we are hoping for a new seriousness on the part of the president with regard to the single biggest issue confronting the country, and we look forward to working with him to do something about this huge, huge problem.”

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said in a statement, “The American people do not support raising the debt ceiling without reducing government spending at the same time. ... The House will do its job and pass responsible legislation that controls spending, meets our nation’s obligations and keeps the government running, and we will insist that the Democratic majority in Washington do the same.”

Obama turned aside a question of whether his record with Congress would be better if he invited more lawmakers to the White House in off-hours.


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When guests from Congress make the trip to the executive mansion, “I promise you, Michelle and I are very nice to them. We have a wonderful time. But it doesn’t stop them from going on the floor of the House and blasting me for being a big spending Socialist,” he said.

Obama made his remarks as a new Congress was settling in for a new term, with Republicans in control of the House and Democrats in the Senate.

Lawmakers face three distinct deadlines before April 1. The debt limit must be raised to prevent a default, a series of across-the-board spending cuts is to kick in on March 1, and funding for most government programs will run out March 27.

Obama spoke against the possibility of letting the government shut down rather than renewing funding beyond March 27. “It will hurt the economy,” he said emphatically.

The president opened his news conference with a statement saying that a vote to increase the debt limit “does not authorize more spending. It simply allows the country to pay for spending that Congress has already agreed to. These are bills we’ve already racked up and we need to pay them.”

Jabbing at Republicans, he quoted Boehner’s remarks of two years ago that allowing a default on U.S. obligations - the practical effect of failing to raise the debt limit - would be a disaster.

Obama said he was willing to consider future deficit cuts, but only if they are done independently from a vote to raise the $16.4 trillion debt limit.

In a rebuttal to Republicans who have said they will not agree to any more tax increases, the president said taxes and spending both must be on the table.

He said he is “open to making modest adjustments to programs like Medicare to protect them for future generations,” and wants to end some tax provisions at the same time.

Obama said he and Congress have reduced projected deficits by about $2.5 trillion over a decade, significantly less than the $4 trillion he said is necessary to get them down to a manageable size.

“I’m happy to have a conversation about how we reduce our deficits in a sensible way,” he said, but added repeatedly he wasn’t willing to let congressional Republicans use the debt limit as leverage in negotiations over spending cuts.

Failure to raise the debt limit would put the United States into a first-ever default, a step Obama said could “blow up the economy.”

Later in the day Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner added to the pressure by writing to congressional leaders that the department still expects to hit the limit between mid-February and early March.

“Treasury would be left to fund the government solely with the cash we have on hand on any given day,” he said, forcing it to choose among creditors, federal contractors,veterans, Social Security and Medicare beneficiaries, and the many other claimants to federal dollars. Some Republicans support temporarily making choices among claimants, but the administration and some financial analysts say that approach would be unworkable and amount to the nation’s first default on its obligations.

Congressional Democrats have recently urged the president to lift the debt limit unilaterally. He said - as he has before - that he won’t do it, that Congress had voted for the spending that resulted in federal borrowing and should now agree to pay the bill.

House Republicans will meet for a retreat Thursday and Friday in Williamsburg, Va., largely to develop plans to get through the three approaching fiscal deadlines. In addition to the debt ceiling, the automatic across-the-board military and domestic cuts are to begin taking effect on March 1, and the law providing financing for federal operations expires March 27.

On guns, Obama pledged to take executive actions, where possible, to reduce gun violence in areas that do not require legislation. He cited better data collection about gun violence by the federal government as one area he might be able to address administratively.

The president blamed gun rights groups for scaring people into thinking that the government was about to take away their guns.

“Even the slightest hint of some sensible, responsible legislation in this area fans this notion that somehow, here it comes, everybody’s guns are going to be taken away,” Obama said.

He added, “It’s a fear that’s fanned by those who are worried about the possibility of any legislation getting out there.”

Also Monday, Obama addressed scrutiny mounting over the number of women and members of minority groups in his Cabinet. Cabinet members who are departing at the end of his first term - including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton - are being replaced largely by white males. But Obama brushed off that criticism, asking for critics to hold their tongues until the remaining vacancies have been filled.

“I’m very proud that in the first four years, we had as diverse, if not a more diverse, White House and a Cabinet than any in history,” Obama said. “I intended to continue that, because it turns out when you look for the very best people, given the incredible diversity of this country, you’re going to end up with a diverse staff.”

Running through a list of high-profile positions filled by women during his first term - such as Clinton and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius - Obama said women comprised 50 percent of his White House staff during his first four years, not to mention the two women he nominated to fill Supreme Court vacancies.

Information for this article was contributed by Julie Pace, Josh Lederman, Mary Clare Jalonick and Philip Elliott of The Associated Press and by Jackie Calmes and Michael D. Shear of The New York Times.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 01/15/2013

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